International Journal of Engineering and Technology

The understanding of energy absorption characteristics of bumper and rear under run protection device (RUPD) is necessary for the development of safe and crashworthy vehicles. The purpose of this research is to study the energy absorption performance of car bumper and rear under run protection device during a collision. Variations in the shape of structure of protection device and its thickness is considered for investigating how these factors affect the energy absorption characteristics of two contacting bodies. The design of under run protection device can be evaluated using finite element methods at the design stage. Comparison were conducted for three types of structure designs of bar of rear under run protection device. The impact energy of the crashing car was investigated for its conversion and distribution among the direct contacting bodies during the period of collision. The relative change in energy absorption characteristics, change in vehicle velocity & deceleration and under run displacement were investigated numerically through simulation on LS-Dyna explicit solver. The results of the research shows that the change in structural design of bar can help in reducing the impact energy transfer towards the car bumper and lowering the injury level of the occupants of under running vehicles. The results were compared to satisfy the regulations stated in IS 14812:2005 for design of protection device.